Part 2 (1/2)
Graham smiled. ”Excited. We haven't had a vacation together in a very long time.”
”It seems to me that we've been in every major European city in the last few-”
”It's not a vacation for you when I'm touring, I know that. I'm distracted and self-absorbed, and you worry that I don't eat enough.” Graham slid her hands inside Anna's silk robe and caressed her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. ”And I'm not very attentive.”
Anna caught her breath, ambushed by the sudden swelling of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Every part of her responded to Graham's touch, as if her body were as precisely strung as the strings on Graham's concert grand. ”Graham, darling, you are very attentive when you're touring because all the pa.s.sion that wells up in you when you play is still there after the performance.” She kissed Graham lingeringly. ”And I'm always waiting.”
”I still don't feel like I take enough time with you.” Graham clasped Anna's hand. ”Let's explore.”
”I need to change.” Anna skimmed her fingers over Graham's s.h.i.+rt. ”And so do you. I'll find you something.”
”I'll wear my jeans,” Graham said, following Anna's gentle lead back into the cabin. ”Then I'll know I'm really on vacation.”
Anna smiled to herself as she opened the suitcases they hadn't yet unpacked. She found a pair of black denim jeans and a soft cotton navy V-neck sweater. Graham had never worn casual clothes off the rack before they'd met. Her wardrobe had been custom-made all of her life, because she'd been performing all of her life. She'd only stopped playing after a car accident left her blind and she'd gone into seclusion for a dozen years. But now, she had returned to the concert stage and to life. Their life.
”Here,” Anna said, turning with the clothes in her hands. She stopped, startled despite how many times in their years together the same thing had happened. Graham held out one of Anna's favorite lounging-around outfits, a pale green, scoop neck sweater and tan cotton slacks. ”I don't how you do that.”
Graham grinned, momentarily softening the austerely handsome planes of her face-a cla.s.sically beautiful face marred by a diagonal scar across her forehead that extended into one eyebrow. That mark of past tragedy only made Anna desire her more.
”I know the way they feel from touching you in them,” Graham said. ”And I plan on spending a lot more time touching them this evening.”
Anna's legs felt suddenly shaky and she laughed self-consciously, as if they weren't longtime lovers but newlyweds on their wedding night. ”Stop,” she said softly.
Graham cupped Anna's cheek and smiled. ”You're blus.h.i.+ng.”
”I was just thinking that there's something about being here, away from our normal lives-if anything about our life can be called normal-that makes me feel as if it's our first time together. I can't...” She feathered her fingers across Graham's mouth. ”I can't wait for you to make love to me.”
Graham grew suddenly still, her clear dark eyes focused unerringly on Anna's. She parted Anna's robe and skimmed it off her shoulders, dropping it behind them on the bed. Then she curved an arm around Anna's waist and pulled her close, caressing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s as she kissed her. Anna moaned and leaned into Graham's embrace.
A moment later, Graham glided her lips along the rim of Anna's ear. ”Perhaps die tour should wait until morning.”
Anna's heart pounded and her stomach tingled in that ”wanting to be touched” kind of way that always made her long for Graham's talented hands. Shaking her head, she gently disengaged. ”I want to walk with you for a while and think about how wonderful you're going to make me feel later.”
”It's a clear night, isn't it? A little bit cool.”
”Yes,” Anna said, slipping the sweater over her head, loving the freedom of having nothing against her skin except the soft, familiar fabric. ”How can you tell?”
”The air is very sharp and crisp, despite the salt spray. It feels as if there's nothing between my skin and the stars except the night.”
”There isn't. When we go up on deck, I'll point them out to you. The stars.”
”I'd like that.”
Anna brushed a lock of dark hair back from Graham's forehead and laughed softly as it promptly fell back. Graham's hair, though carefully styled for the concert stage, was still casually roguish. Traces of gray streaked her temples now, and although she was naturally pale and slender, she radiated vitality and pa.s.sion with every breath.
”I love you,” Anna whispered. Not that long ago Graham had nearly slipped away, and Anna would never forget the agony of almost losing her.
Graham looked up from b.u.t.toning her jeans, and as always, Anna felt her gaze. Graham couldn't see her, had never seen her, but she had never felt so known in all the ways that mattered.
”I love you.” Graham held out her hand. ”Are you prepared to be my tour guide?”
”Always.” Anna threaded her fingers through Graham's. ”We are in the center of the main room of the suite right now. The bed-a queen size, very nice-is behind us. To your left are-”
”Two sets of double doors to the veranda, which faces the bow and overlooks the port side of the s.h.i.+p. We're on deck nine-Pegasio, which is the highest level containing pa.s.senger cabins. To our right is the sitting room and the door to the bath.”
”I told you all this earlier, didn't I?” Anna said, laughing.
”You did. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have gone out onto the veranda.”
”Uh huh,” Anna said with a hint of disbelief. She tugged Graham toward the door and opened it. ”The hallway is ten feet wide with cabin doors opening every twenty feet or so along it. We're at the very front of this deck, so if we walk down the corridor to the central foyer, we'll reach the elevators.”
Anna waited while Graham closed the door, her right hand on the handle, and pivoted to face the direction in which they would walk. Although Graham had not been born blind, she had developed an unerring sense of herself in relations.h.i.+p to her environment and adapted very quickly to new surroundings. Still, she could not see and that made her vulnerable, and Anna was intensely attuned to that fact every moment of the day. And every moment of the day, she worked hard so that Graham would not sense her worry.
”Ready?” Anna asked.
Graham took Anna's hand as any lover would upon embarking on a stroll. ”Yes.”
”The s.h.i.+p is almost nine hundred feet long, which is almost...” Anna hesitated, working on the math as they walked.
”A little bit over an eighth of a mile.” Graham tucked Anna's hand in the bend of her arm.
”Something like that.” Anna laughed. ”Now, this deck actually overlooks one of the main restaurants two decks below.” They reached the end of the pa.s.sageway and Anna stopped. ”Have you been counting?”
”Yes. To the right are the elevators?”
”That's right. And to the left is the open balcony that rings the restaurant below. Halfway around in that direction are the doors to one of the outside pools. There's also a cabana and bar out there, but they're closed tonight, of course.” Anna wanted to tell Graham not to attempt navigating anywhere in this area by herself, but she refrained. In all likelihood Graham would not go anywhere without her. As independent as Graham might be, she wasn't foolhardy. ”We can go down to the lounge now, or check out the decks where the health spas and casinos are located, or we can go outside and see the stars.”
”We'll have plenty of time to explore the rest of the s.h.i.+p tomorrow,” Graham said, draping her arm around Anna's shoulders. ”I opt for stars tonight.”
”Good.” Anna encircled Graham's waist and tilted her head against Graham's shoulder. ”Let's find a deck chair to cuddle up in.”
Once outside, Anna chose a deck lounger out of the wind and away from the few couples who stood at the rail on the far side of the pool, apparently taking in the view. She tilted the back of the lounger so that it was nearly reclining and said, ”You lie down first.”
Graham stretched out and Anna settled between her legs, her back to Graham's chest. When Graham's arms came around her, she clasped them and nuzzled her face against Graham's neck. ”Perfect.”
”Are you cold?” Graham murmured with her lips against Anna's ear.
”No, not with you holding me this way.”
”Can you count the stars?”
Anna laughed. ”There are thousands.”
Graham eased one hand free from Anna's grip and slid it underneath the bottom of Anna's sweater, spreading her fingers over Anna's stomach. ”How many can you see directly above us?”
”Oh,” Anna mused, realizing how many small stars there were between the bright points of the constellations. ”Hundreds.”
”Even the wind is different out here,” Graham said, tilting her head to one side. ”It ebbs and flows as if the sky itself were breathing. Or playing for us.”
Anna closed her eyes, hoping to capture the refrain that Graham heard in the night sky. The stars still sparkled beneath her closed lids and her skin tingled, stirred by Graham's fingers moving rhythmically on her bare stomach, recreating the wind-song on her skin. Graham did that unconsciously when a melody formed in her mind, her pianist's fingers playing chords as the music came to her. Anna had fallen hopelessly in love watching Graham play and had lost her heart to the woman whose music was life. Now, years later, she fell in love with her all over again every time Graham played. Tonight, she felt her play.